This invention relates to a pointing device for specifying a position in a predetermined space, and to an information processing apparatus including this pointing device and a display.
An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer often has, as an input device, in addition to a keyboard for inputting characters, a pointing device for pointing to a position on a screen. Examples of pointing devices include mouse devices, joysticks and track balls. Usually, displacement of a body of the pointing device relative to a reference surface is detected, and a cursor showing a position on a screen moves in correspondence with this detected displacement.
In particular, in an information processing apparatus having a graphical user interface for interfacing with a user through visual information on a screen, the pointing device plays an important role. For example, to select an object from among a number of objects displayed on a screen, a pointing device is operated to bring the cursor to above the object to be selected, and by a button provided on the pointing device being depressed the desired object can be selected easily.
Pointing devices which have other functions in addition to the function of simply specifying a position on a screen have been proposed. For example, a pointing device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.1-102619 is a mouse additionally provided with a digitizer function, and as well as specifying a position on a screen by detecting a two-dimensional displacement with the essential mouse function, it allows the inputting of characters with the digitizer function. And a mouse disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H.6-259189, as well as specifying a position on a screen by detecting a two-dimensional displacement with the essential mouse function, allows displayed content on the screen to be scrolled with an added scrolling function. Thus, various proposals have been made to improve the capabilities of pointing devices.
However, because the process of pointing to a position on a screen by operating a pointing device relies on visual information on the screen, for a weak-sighted person it is not easy. In particular, when an object on the screen is small, pointing to a position on the screen by operating a pointing device can be difficult not only for the weak-sighted but even for the fully sighted. And because attentive viewing of the screen is required, there are adverse effects on the health of the operator (for example eye strain and dry eye). In the pointing devices disclosed in the publications mentioned above, although other functions (a digitizer function or a scrolling function) are provided, no improvement of the position specifying function, which is the essential function of a pointing device, has been made. This applies not only to the specifying of a position on a screen by operation of a pointing device but also to the reading of an attribute of an object on a screen in a position specified by operation of a pointing device.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a pointing device and an information processing apparatus with which it is possible to specify a position in a predetermined space easily.
A pointing device provided by the invention for specifying a position in a predetermined space has: (1) a first displacement detecting unit, which detects a displacement of a body of the pointing device; (2) a second displacement detecting unit, which has a displacement detecting member and detects a displacement of this displacement detecting member; (3) a position specifying unit, which displaces the origin of a local coordinates system in the predetermined space in correspondence with the displacement of the body detected by the first displacement detecting unit and specifies a position displaced from the origin of the local coordinates system in correspondence with the displacement of the displacement detecting member detected by the second displacement detecting unit; and (4) a stimulus delivery unit, which delivers a stimulus corresponding to the position in the predetermined space specified by the position specifying unit.
Displacement of the body of this pointing device is detected by the first displacement detecting unit and displacement of the displacement detecting member is detected by the second displacement detecting unit. The position specifying unit displaces the origin of a local coordinates system in a predetermined space in correspondence with the displacement of the body detected by the first displacement detecting unit and specifies a position displaced from the origin of the local coordinates system in correspondence with the displacement of the displacement detecting member detected by the second displacement detecting unit. That is, a position corresponding to both the displacement of the body detected by the first displacement detecting unit and the displacement of the displacement detecting member detected by the second displacement detecting unit is specified in the predetermined space. Also, the stimulus delivery unit delivers a stimulus (preferably a tactile stimulus) corresponding to the position in the predetermined space specified by the position specifying unit.
A pointing device according to the invention can have substantially the same form as a mouse or a joystick of related art. In addition to a first displacement detecting unit for detecting a displacement of a body, which a related art mouse device has, a pointing device according to the invention has a second displacement detecting unit for detecting a displacement of a displacement detecting member, a position specifying unit for specifying a position in a predetermined space on the basis of the displacements detected by the first and second displacement detecting units, and a stimulus delivery unit for delivering a stimulus corresponding to this specified position. There are various forms in which the stimulus delivery unit can deliver the stimulus. In this way, it is possible to specify a position in a predetermined space easily.
When the pointing device is used with an information processing apparatus having a display, the predetermined space is a display space on a screen of the display, and a cursor is displayed in the position on the screen specified by the position specifying unit. However, the predetermined space does not necessarily have to be one which can be observed visually, and may alternatively be a predetermined space set imaginarily.
In a pointing device according to the invention, preferably, the ratio of the displacement of the specified position from the origin of the local coordinates system to the displacement of the displacement detecting member is smaller than the ratio of the displacement of the origin of the local coordinates system to the displacement of the body. In this case, moving the body of the pointing device causes the position in the predetermined space (on the screen of a display) to displace in a xe2x80x98macroxe2x80x99 fashion and moving the displacement detecting member causes the position in the predetermined space (on the screen of the display) to displace in a xe2x80x98microxe2x80x99 fashion. Consequently, it is possible to point to a position in the predetermined space (on the screen of the display) coarsely by moving the pointing device body and to point to a position in the predetermined space (on the screen of the display) finely by moving the displacement detecting member. In this way, it is possible to specify a position in the predetermined space still more easily.
And, preferably, in a pointing device according to the invention, the displacement detecting member is constructed to be movable by a finger of an operator. In this case, whereas moving the pointing device body involves the arm or the wrist, because moving the displacement detecting member involves only a fingertip, the displacement detecting member can be moved with good precision. And in this way also it is possible to specify a position in the predetermined space more easily.
And, preferably, in a pointing device according to the invention, the stimulus delivery unit delivers the stimulus by way of the displacement detecting member. In this case, the operator can point to a position in the predetermined space by moving the displacement detecting member and also the stimulus is delivered by the stimulus delivery unit through this displacement detecting member. And if the displacement detecting member is movable by a finger of an operator, the operator can perform the same action as the action of feeling an article with a fingertip and at the same time can physically experience with the fingertip the tactile feel of the article.
An information processing apparatus provided by the invention has: (1) a pointing device according to the invention as described above, which specifies a position in a predetermined space and delivers a stimulus; (2) a display, which displays the predetermined space and also displays a position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device; and (3) a stimulus generating unit, which generates a stimulus signal corresponding to the position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device and causes the pointing device to deliver a stimulus on the basis of this stimulus signal.
In this information processing apparatus, on the display a predetermined space is displayed and also a position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device is displayed. And, the stimulus delivery unit generates a stimulus signal corresponding to the position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device and the pointing device delivers a stimulus on the basis of this stimulus signal.
And, preferably, an information processing apparatus according to the invention is further provided with a display state changing unit for changing the state of the display of the predetermined space on the display in correspondence with the position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device. In this case, the state of the display of the predetermined space on the display is changed by the display state changing unit in correspondence with the position in the predetermined space specified by the pointing device. For example, the display of the predetermined space on the display can be enlarged or reduced in size in correspondence with the relative positional relationship between the position specified by the pointing device and an object on the screen. Then, the operator can point to a position on the screen of the display easily by switching between pointing to the position by moving the pointing device body and pointing to the position by moving the displacement detecting member in correspondence with changes in the state of display of the predetermined space on the display.